I remember when I was growing up and it didn't matter whatever I got into for any extended length of time...after a while my mom declared that it was "ruining my life" and that I was grounded from it. The radio, TV, computer games, even Legos.
That's right. Somehow during growing up, I had allowed the sinister blocks to invade my subconscious, forcing me to imagine things and build them in all their blocklike glory. Once I realized this, I knew I must take my revenge upon them! But how? I couldn't just smash them, that would require me to build them into something in the first place...it was all part of their fiendish plot! Alas, I could come up with nothing more nefarious than selling them...sacrificing another child so that I would be free.
But now my salvation is at hand! With Lego Star Wars: The Game I am now free to take control of Lego renditions of everyone's favorite Star Wars characters, and destroy the evil Lego threat!
Story
All kidding aside, the game encompasses movies 1-3 of the Star Wars Sexilogy. (Ok, so it isn't a “real” word. You figure out what you're supposed to use to refer to a series comprised of six parts.) If you complete all 17 Chapters in the game at “True Jedi” status (which involves picking up a varying number of Lego studs dispersed throughout the level) you'll unlock a bonus chapter, and get to control Darth Vader at the beginning of Episode IV.
You'll unlock Episodes II and III by completing a single Chapter of Episode I and from there you can head back to Dexter's Diner to play them in whatever order you like.
The story all takes place in standard Lego movie style. If you saw the Lego Spiderman 2 movie, you pretty much know what to expect. No voice, the characters all emote via facial expressions, or small yelps.
Gameplay
Square is your attack button. You'll use this to attack with your lightsaber or blaster. If you're a lightsaber wielder, the square button is also what is used to deflect blaster bolts. If you just mash the button you'll block everything haphazardly, but if you hit it the split second before it reaches your character, it will deflect the bolt back at the shooter.
X is your jump, and O is your special move. Force users will be able to manipulate the blocks lying about the levels to either solve puzzles, or just to gain access to Lego Studs. (Every time I see that, I'm reminded of that bad Fox dating show “Studs” and the parody sketch on the Ben Stiller Show “Amish Studs”.) Other characters will have abilities like unlocking doors, or the use of a Lego Grappling Hook. As a result of all the differing special abilities, you'll frequently need to switch back and forth between your party members. This is done via the Triangle button. That's pretty much it. You don't have any control over the camera, no defense, no lock on gameplay mechanisms. That's all your controls.
As you progress through the game, you'll be able to pick up Lego Studs. They're single, and ready to mingle! Actually, though, they're just those “1-block” circular pieces. They're on the caps of all the blasters in the game. You pick them up and you're able to use them to buy extra characters to use during Free Play mode, or other Extras such as brooms to replace your lightsabers, or invincibility.
Scattered throughout the level are little "mini-kits". If you collect all 10 of them, you get a new Lego model kit that's parked outside Dexter's Diner for you to check out, as well as a 50,000 stud bonus for completion of the level and some extra savoir faire. A lot of the mini-kits are placed in areas that you won't be able to get to on your first run-through of the level, so you'll have to go back and play the level in Free Play.
Graphics
The graphics are astounding! In actuality, this is probably the easiest game to model, because everything is based off of the Lego models, which they've already built. However, that doesn't mean that it isn't damn cool to see the Lego Star Destroyer filling your screen. I'm very impressed with how all of this is pulled off, especially the cutscenes which manage to put a humorous spin on the events of the movie, even though none of the characters speak. This game gets major, major style points in my book.
Audio
The audio isn't bad either, liberally using a lot of the music from the movies. The effects are all from the movies as well, so you really can't fault a lot of what they have here for you to listen to.
Gripes
This seems like a little issue but it got under my skin. The collection of nuts and bolts in Ratchet and Clank just feels good. It's kind of like there's stuff on the floor and you're just magically cleaning it up by being near it. It's gratifying in a way that's tough to explain. Picking up Lego Studs in Lego Star Wars is a lot more of a chore. The party characters don't aid in the collection, the Studs are dispersed all over the place, and they disappear very quickly. Considering that you're trying to pick these things up to unlock other areas of the game, and the fact that your Jedi characters should just be able to Force Pull them all to you, this was a very annoying flaw as the game went on. For the inevitable sequel, I think someone over at Traveller's Tales would benefit greatly from a playthrough of Ratchet & Clank.
I'd like to see an overarching intro for the game. Render some stuff that wasn't in the movies to play on screen. That would be nice. I'd like to see what the Lego guys would come up with as a little 1 minute short. Major props for not having 5 separate intros from everyone involved, and instead just putting them all at the beginning. More people need to do it this way!
The double jump is implemented poorly. I much prefer the double jump in Shinobi/Nightshade and Musashi: Samurai Legend. The window for executing the second jump in Lego Star Wars is a bit too small, and I end up falling into a lot of pits I wouldn't if that mechanic of gameplay was just a little more in line with games currently on the market. Probably just an additional tenth of a second, and this would be fine. This is another thing to fix for the sequel.
There needs to be some more material differences between the characters. In the game currently, the only difference between Mace Windu and Qui-Gon Jinn are that they look different, and they have different lightsaber attack moves and jumps. All of them cause 1 heart worth of damage to a boss, and all of them require the same number of hits to kill a minion. I want to see Jedi Master Luke be a tad bit more formidable than Young Master Luke. It's just not right without it. Some sort of advancement would be nice for the sequel.
Lego Star Wars is also lacking camera control or an objective assistant. You need one of the two. If I can't see where I'm going I need to know where I need to get to in order to advance the game. There are several times in the game where you're kind of pondering what to do for a few minutes because you can't see everything. This is something that could be fixed with a camera or a simple pointer. Once again, this is something I hope is implemented in the inevitable sequel.
The lack of a lock on feature is also something that I would like to see remedied in the sequel. Items that you're already manipulated to the greatest extent the game will let you still appear as valid “Forceable” targets. I'd like to be able to cycle through what I'm targeting so I don't end up using the Force on a bunch of stuff that won't give me any sort of reward. Lock on and target acquisition are badly needed in combat for the blaster toting characters as well. These two things would go a long way towards making the game a very smooth and much more enjoyable experience.
Now the big gripe. This game is way too short and too easy. I realize that the game is supposed to be fun and approachable for kids and non-gamers, but I unlocked everything save one character model in the game in under 10 hours. (I could have unlocked Darth Sidious if I wanted to, but I didn't want to go and grab the 60,000 more Lego Studs it required.) There needs to be a bit more to a game than 8-10 hours. It's just not right to charge $40 for it otherwise.
Overall
Lego Star Wars is basically the same as the Star Wars Lego kits. You'll complete it in under a day, and then put it up on the shelf, never to be played with again. There isn't enough in this game to keep a gamer interested or challenged for very long (though it is nice to be able to kill Jar Jar). It's sure nice to look at and show off to your guests, but I'm sure glad I didn't pay for this one. Lego Star Wars is definitely a rental.
